Methods and apparatus for feeding stubs pneumatically



July 23, 1968 J, ow cz 3,393,591

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STUBS PNEUMATICALLY Filed Nov. 16, 1965Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.|.

July 23, 1968 .1. A. RAKOWICZ 3,393,591

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STUBS PNEUMATICALLY Filed Nov. 16, 19653 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q Li.

I Q U.

July 23, 1968 J. A. RAKOWICZ 3,393,591

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STUBS PNEUMATICALLY Filed Nov. 16, 19655 Sheets-Sheet 15 um l v United States Paten 1 3,393,591 v METHODS- ANDAPPARATUS FOR FEEDING STUBS PNEUMATICALLY I Jan Antoni Rakowicz, London,England, assignor to The Molins Organisation Limited, London, England, acorporation of Great Britain Filed Nov. 16, 1965, Ser. No. 508,032Claims priority, application Great Britain, Nov.'19, 1964,

47,082/64 I I 22 Claims. (Cl. 83-27) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Stubsconveyed pneumatically inline endwise through one or more guide conduitsare deposited in transverse channels in a conveyor so that the stubs arethen arranged transversely of their direction of travel by feeding thestubs to one or more rotors in which they are given a sideways motionequal to the speed of the conveyor when transfer takes place. A pair ofconduits may supply stubs to opposite ends of a rotor to be transferredlaterally into the channels, or the stubs may be transferred endwiseinto the channels from a separate rotor for each conduit.

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to methods andapparatus for feeding stubs pneumatically.

In the present specification the word 'I stub is intended to include anysort of mouthpiece portion for a cigarette (such as a piece of filteringmaterial, or a hollow tube, or any other suitable piece of material(including tobacco which is different from the tobacco contained in therest of the cigarette) or any combination of theforegoing) whether thelength of the stub is the length required in a finished cigarette, or isa multiple of such length.

One general method of manufacturing mouthpiece cigarettes is to placebetween each pair of cigarette lengths a double-length mouthpieceportion, to unite thecigarette lengths and mouthpiece portion, and thento sever the resulting assemblage through the mouthpiece-portion toresult in two mouthpiece cigarettes. T'his operation is carried out athigh speeds, and the pairs ofcigarette lengths are conveniently arrangedin two side-by-side' rows of cigarettes which are conveyed sideways ofthe cigarettes,

whilst a side-by-side row of double length stubs is conveyed to betweenthe rows of cigarettes so that a double length stub is placed betweeneach pair of cigarettes consisting of one cigarette in each row. Due tothe high'rate of production necessary a number of pairs of cigarettesand associated stubs are operated on together, so that I successivepairs of cigarettes and stubs are simultaneously undergoing successivestages in the same operation. The

high speed involved also necessitates a relatively large is to conveythe stubs pneumatically, in'line, and in the Y direction of theirlengths, through at least 'oneguide conduit which is dimensionedinternally to. constrain the stubs in end to end relation. Large numbersof stubs canhe conveyed at high speeds, very conveniently by thismethod,

both over very short distances, where the stub hopper may be on themachine making mouthpiece cigarettes, or over longer distances, Wherethe stub hopper may beremote from the machine. Plastic flexible 'pipesmay conveniently be used for these purposes. I e

This solution introduces a difliculty at the point where the motion ofthe. stubs has to be converted from the lengthwise motionvmentionedabove to a sideways motion'in a side-by-side row for each stub to be,placed between a pair of cigarettes. Normally, the side by side row ofstubs is produced on a conveyor such as a fluted drum. Thus, the highlengthwise, speed of the line of stubs has to be converted into a highspeed of a side-by-side row of stubs moving side-ways of the stubs.

It has previously been proposed to direct the line of stubs into linewith the flutes in a fluted drum, and to allow each successive foremoststub to be urged forward to enter a flute lengthwise. With suchanarrangement, the leading face of each stub is rubbed by the end faceof the wall separatingtwo flutes as the fluted drum rotates to aposition where an empty-flute is presented to the stub for it to enter.The greater the pitch of the flutes, the more pronounced this effectbecomes since, for the same rate of removal of stubs, a longer end faceof the wall separating successive flutes must rub past the foremost stubin the same time. The time available for the stub to move into thevacant flute is only the time that the fluite is in register with theend of the guide conduit, and increases in 'both the pitch of the stubsand the rate of stub removal reduce this time. A greater time intervalcan be made available by increasing the width of the flute i.e. byincreasing the dimension of the flute in the direction of its travel,but this is liable to result in uneven pitches for the stubs due totheir random positioning in the flutes.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method offeeding stubs to positions spaced apart on an endless conveyor in thedirection of its travel, and so that the stubs lie transversely of saiddirection of travel method comprises pneumatically conveying the stubs,in line, and in the direction of their lengths, substantially at rightangles to the path of the conveyor, and causing each successive foremoststub, whilst still travelling in the direction of its length, to travelalso laterally of its length in a curved path of progressivelyincreasing radius, and at a progressively increasing peripheral speed,until the path of the foremost stub is closely adjacent to the path ofthe conveyor, and the peripheral speed of the stub is substantiallyequal to the speed of the conveyor, and is in the same direction, andthen transferring each successive foremost stub at timed intervals tosaid conveyor.

Each successive foremost stub may be transferred laterally of itself onto the conveyor and pneumatic assistance may be provided for thetransfer operation.

Further according to the present invention there is provided apparatusfor feeding stubs from a supply thereof, and for receiving said stubsand conveying them sideways in a side-by-side row in which they arespaced apart comprising, means for removing stubs in succession from thesupply thereof, and for feeding them endwise and in line into a guideconduit in which they are constrained to move only in their lengthwisedirection, said guide condult ter-mlnating at a location adjacent to aconveyor having transverse channels spaced apart in the direction oftravel of the conveyor e.g. a fluted drum, at which location the guideconduit is parallel with the conveyor channels, a rotor arranged withits axis in line with the end of the guide conduit, and having a passageon the axis of the rotor and communicating with the guide conduit at oneend of the rotor to remove stubs from the conduit, said passageextending at a gradually increasing distance from the rotor axis toadjacent the conveyor where radially outer'end of the passage is equalthespee d of the conveyor, and meansoperable on each revolution'of' therotor, when the passage is nearest to the conveyor, to transfer theforemost stub into a channel on the conveyor. The rotor may be arrangedso that the path of the radially outer end of the passage is radiallyoutside the path-of the conveyor, and in this case the rotor'will rotatein the opposite sense to the movement of-the convey-or (i.e. itsrotation in the case of a fluted drum), the passage at its radiallyouter end having a "stop to arrest the lengthwise motion of the stub,and being open in the radially outward direction for the stub to betransferred laterally of itself into a channel of theconveyor.

More than one line of stubs may be fed to the conto-the conveyor, -apassage being provided in the rotor for each guide conduit, bothpassages extending towards the middle of the rotor where they are bothopen in the radially outward direction and have a stop member, thepassages being diametrically opposite to each other.

The lateral transfer of the stubs may also be assisted by the provisionof passages in the rotor which are supplied with air to blow the stubsout of the rotor.

To ensure or assist the lateral transfer of the stubs a stripper meansmay be provided for each rotor.

The supply of stubs may consist of stubs of multiples of double length,the longer stubs being subdivided into stubs of double length which arefed into the guide conduit.

Further according to the present invention, there is provided a methodof feeding stubs from a supply of longer stubs, which comprisesconveying said longer stubs sideways in a side-by-side row, subdividingeach longer stub, separating laterally of their lengths the shorterstubs resulting from the subdivision to expose adjacent end faces of thestubs, and blowing against the said end face of one of said shorterstubs to feed it lengthwise of itself away from the bulk supply.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a method offeeding stubs to a plurality of sideby-side paths from a supply oflonger stubs which comprises conveying said longer stubs sideways in aside-byside row, subdividing each longer stub into a line containing asmany shorter stubs as there are paths, conveying the side-by-side row oflines of shorter stubs past the side-by-side row of paths so that eachline comes into register with each path in succession, and blowing insuccession the stub at the end of each line of stubs adjacent to thepaths into the next succeeding path.

Further according to the present invention there is provided apparatusfor feeding stubs from a supply of longer stubs which comprises arotatable fluted drum to remove stubs from said supply and convey themsideways ina side-by-side row, means to subdivide each longer stub intoshorter stubs, a shroud around part of said drum and spaced therefrom toallow the shorter stubs to move Further according to the presentinvention, there is provided apparatus for feeding stubs from a supplyof longer stubs into a plurality of guide conduits, which comprises arotatable fluted drum to remove stubs from said supply and convey themsideways in a side-by-side row, means to subdivide each longer stub intoa line containing as many shorter stubs as there are guide con-"part=circular'side-by=side rowat--the lower part of said drum so thateach flute comes into line with each guide conduit in succession, a pipeassociated with each guide conduit to blow into the conduit the thenforemost stub as the flute comes into line with each guide conduit insuccessioiifand means to restrain the s tubs"'beh'ind the then foremoststub. v v

' fl'h stubs behind the foremost stub maybe restrained by beingheld'intothe base of the flute by a resilient roller, e.g. of Sorbo rubber. f L

1 One embodiment ofthe inventionwillnow be described, by way of example,with reference to the accompanying drawings, of whichz I FIGURE 1 is anend elevation, with parts broken away, of a stub hopper which suppliestour guide conduits,

FIGURE 2,, is a front ;elevation,': partly -in section, of the stubhopper, and shows also two of the guide conduits feeding'ai-cornmonrotor which transfer stubs into afinted'd um, FIGURE 3' is adiagrammatic plan showing pneumatic meansfor feeding stubs from thehopper to the four conduits whichin turn supply two double rotors.

' FIGURE 4 is a section on the line 44 of FIGURE 3, FIGURES 5, 6 and 7show the manner in which stubs 'are supplied to the second third andfourth conduits,

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 showing a second form of' rotorfor transferring stubs into a fluted drum, .7

FIGURE 9 is a section on the line 99 of FIGURE 8, FIGURE 10 is 'a'viewcorresponding to FIGURE 8 showing a third form of rotor, FIGURE I1 isasectionon the line 1111 of FIG- URE' 10. i

FIGURES l and 2 show a stub hopper 10 comprising a container 11'for thebulk supply of stubs. Below the container 11 is a drum 12 which hasflutes 12A. Each flutegreceives a multiple length stub from thecontainer 11 as the drum'12 rotates, and carries thisv stub past threerotatable knives 13,14 and 15 which extend into thre e of thecircumferential grooves 12B provided in 'the drum 12."The stubsinthe'container 11 are eight times the lengthof astub required'in amouthpiece cigarette, and thus the knives 13, 14 and 15 subdivideeac'h'lon-g stub into four'double-length stubs. A serrated roller 11Abrushes back stubs where the surface of the drum 12 leaves the container11 and assists in loading the flutes. At the lower part ofthe' drum 12there are four parallel guide conduits GC1, GC-2, GC3 and GC4 (see alsoFIGURE 3) which are spaced a flute pitch apart so that the flutesofeach" group of foursuccessive flutes of the drum 12 become alignedwith the guide conduits for each rotation of the drum through one flutepitch. p

4 A shroud 16 fextendsaround approximately half of the drum andconsistso-f two parts 16 A and16B. The part 16A covers the curvedvsurface of the drum' and the part 16B covers the ends of the flutes andis deeper in the region of the 'guide'conduits. The upstream ends of theguide" conduits where they enter the shroud 16B are enlarged iiith'edirection of travel of the drum to increase the "time-available for astub to enter the guide "conduit. Associatedwiththe guide conduit GC1are three Sorb'orubbers rollers 17,18 and 1 9- mounted on a spindle 20which is' f ree to'rotate'in supports 21 securedf to the shroud 16A.These three rollers areeacharranged to hold up andti'ap'against' thebase of theflute one of the three stubs behind'the foremost stub'wheneach flute comes into use with'j'the guide conduit focirsimilari twoSorbotaupe; rollersZZ and gsmoumeden'a spindle are associated with theguidemconduit wC iC2J (see also FIGURE strain the tworearmost stubs .inline with that conduit, and single' roller 25, is associatedwith guideconduit 'GC3' to 'restrain the'rean mqst stub .in linewith 'co'rrdiiit GC3 (see also FIGURE 6). These rollersjare mut 3x h q atiqn l l rl l. 44- "flustin front'of the roller 17is a pipe 26 whichpro ttfudesthroughthe shroud 16A and terminates in anozzle 26Aikhichfia'ces'to'wards the guide conduit GC1,'and similarlya pipe 27 protrudesthrough the shroud 1 6A just'infront of the roller 22 and terminates ina nozzle ZZAj'which faces towards the guide conduit GC2, and'a pipe'28"protrudes through the 'shroud'16A just in front of the roller 25 andterminates in a nozzle 28A which faces towards the guide'conduit GC 3IApipe 29' terminating in a 'no'zzle' 29A which faces towards theguidec'onduit' GC4 is" tjvided'behind' the drum and in line withtha'tcondu it fAliris suppliec l'continuo'uslyto the four pipes 26, 27,28"and"29.The'nozzles 26A, 27A, 28A and 29A are inoreasedinwidth,asJshown in FIGURE l. I I

The stubsl'received in the flutes 12A ofthe drum 12 are treatedin'thefollowin'g manner. 'As each octuple' length 's't'u'bfis' carriedunder'the knife 13 it is severed into two quadttiplelengthstubsfThe twoquadruple length stubs iii'each 'flute are eachsevered'by the knives 14and1 15 i'nt'ojtwodouble lengthstubs."Thus, "each flute leaving theknives 14..and" -15contains"a line of fourdouble length stu bsIWhen eachflute'co'mes into line with the'guide c'onduit' GC1 the foremost stub,i.e., the one nearest to the "guide conduit, has fallen on to the shroud16A, whilst the three stubs behind it are held up into the base of theflute by the rollers 17, 18 and 19 and thus are restrained. The rearface of the foremost stub is partly exposed by this'action and, as it isunrestrained, it is blown into and along the guide conduit GC1 by thejet of air issuing from the nozzle 26A and impinging on its rear face.With continued rotation of the drum the next flute cornes'into line withtheguide conduit GC1 and the foremost stub in that flute is also blowninto the-guide conduit "GC1; Thus, as the drum 12 continues to rotate,the'foremost stub in each flute. is blown into the guide conduit GC1 aseach flute comes into line with'that conduit. Atthe same time as thisoccurs the preceding flute now containing only three stubs comes intoline with the guide conduit GC2. The now foremost s'tub falls on to theshroud 16A due to theabse nce at this location'of a roller correspondingto the roller 17, and'is 'blown into"arid along the guide conduit GC2 bythe air jet from the nozzle 27A. This is repeated for each flute as itcomes into line with the conduit GCZ'and thus all the stubs nextsucceeding the stub originally foremost are blown intqthe conduit GC2.Similarly, 'as each flute comes 'into line with the conduit GC3 the'rearmost'of the two stubs remaining therein is held up into the base ofthe flute and restrained by the roller whilst the now foremost plugdrops onto the shroud 1'6A and is blown into the guide conduit GC3 bythe air jet from the nozzle 28A. The single stub remaining in each fluteis-unrestrained when the flute comes into line with the guide conduitGC4 and is blown into and along that conduit by the jet of 'air fromthe'nozzle 29A. Thus the four stubs which were on'ginally in each fluteare blown in 'successioninto the four guide'conduits, and an even feedof stubs into these conduits isproduced. As Will be seen inFIGURE l,'the ends of the'guide conduits GC1, GC2, GC3 and GC4 are increased inwidth to increase the time available for each stub to enter a conduit. It "As may be seen from FIGURE 3, the guide conduits GC1 and GC2'extendto opposite ends ofa rotor 30, and the guide conduits GC3 and GC4 extendto opposite ends of a rotor 31. As [shown also in FIGURE 4,,these tworotors are similar and are arranged atangularly spaced positions arounda fluted drum 32. The stubs are transferred laterally from the middlesof the rotors 30 and 31 into the flutes of the drum 32. An enlargedsectional view of the rotor 30 is shown in FIGURE 2 and a section on theline 4-4 of FIGURE 3 is shown in FIGURE 4. i The rotor 30 is arrangedforrotation in ball bearings 33, 34,35 and 36 in supporting structure,andis driven by' chains (not shown) and sprocket wheel's37 and 38.

Considering the right hand end of the rotor 30 as shown in FIGURE 2, theguide conduit Gclterrninates in-line with the 'axis of rotation of therotor which is parallel with the flutes in the drum 32. Inside the rotoris a passage 38 formed by a pipe 38A which, at the outer end of therotor, is onthe [rotor axis and therefore is in line with the guideconduit GC1, and also extends towards the other end of the rotor: at agradually increasing distance from the rotor :axis. The right hand endof the pipe 38A is secured in the centre of the sprocket wheel 37, andthe other end of the pipe 38A is secured in a circular plate 39 andspaced from its centre. The rotor body is formed by a tube 40, andmembers '41, 42 and 43 in the rotor support the pipe 38A at differentdistances from the axis of the rotor. The middle'portion of the rotor isformed by a drum 44 which contains two flutes 44A and 44B which arespaced 180 apart. The left hand end of the pipe 38A communicates withthe flute 44A which forms the end of the passage 38. As can be seen fromFIGURE 4, the flute 44A, and therefore the end of the passage 38,travels in a path closely adjacent to the path of the flutes in thefluted drum 32.'A pipe45 is secured in the sprocket Wheel 37 at aposition spaced from the axis of the rotor, and with its end flush withthe surface of the sprocket wheel 37, 'and extends through the members41, 42, 43. At its other end it communicates with a passage 46 in thedrum 44. Passages 46A, 46B and 46C extend from the base of the flute 44Ato the passage 46. A stationary pipe 47 has its end sealed by thesprocket wheel 37 except for once in each revolution of the rotor 30when it supplies air through the pipe 45 to the flute 44A. This occurswhen the flute 44A is nearest to the fluted drum 32. The left hand partof the rotor is similar. The end of the guide conduit GC2 terminates onthe axis of the rotor 30 and a passage 138 formed by a pipe 138Acommunicates with the guide conduit GC2 and extends to the flute 44B,terminating in a member 133, the pipe passing through intermediatemembers 141, 142 and 143 in a cylindrical member 140. Similarly, a pipe145 receives air from a pipe 147 once for each revolution of the rotorand supplies it to the flute 44B through a passage 146 and passages146A, 146B and 146C. In FIGURE 2 the rotor [is shown in the positionwhere the flute 44B is closest to the druin 32 for air to be supplied tothe flute 44B from the pipe 147.

Shown in FIGURE 4 are a shroud 48 which extends around the middle partof the rotor 30, i.e. around the drum 44, except adjacent to the drum32, a shroud 49 which extends around part of the drum 32 and terminatesin two fingers 49A which protrude into two circumferential channels 44Cand 44D in the drum 44 to act as a stripper to assist in removing stubsfrom the flutes 44A and 44B, and another and similar shroud 50, the endof which acts as a stripper for the other rotor 31.

The rotor 31 is identical in construction to the rotor 30, and will notbe further described. The drum 32 has nine flutes 32A which each have ashort radial passage 3213 leading into them. Two stationary suctionchambers 32C are provided, one adjacent each of the rotors 30 and 31 sothat as a flute in the drum 32 comes opposite a rotor 30 or 31 toreceive a stub suction is applied to the flute 32A by the passage 32Bcoming into communication with a suction chamber 320.

The rotors 30 and 31 are driven to rotate in the same direction andopposite to the direction of rotation of the drum 32. The pitch of thetwo flutes 44A and 44B in the rotor 30 is twice the pitch of the flutes32A on the drum 32, and similarly for the rotor 31. The rotors 30 and 31rotate at such a speed that the speed of their peripheries is the sameas the speed of the periphery of the drum 32. The two rotors 30 and 31are also situated so that the flutes in the rotor 30 come into registerwith one set of alternate flutes 32A in the drum 32, and the flutes inthe rotor 31 come into register with the other alternate flutes 32A.

The operation of the rotors and 31 is as follows. A stream of doublelength stubs is blown along the guide conduit GC1 by the air from thenozzle 26A. Each stub as it enters the pipe 38A in the rotor is causedalso to travel in a curved path due to the rotation of the rotor and thedeparture of the pipe 38A from the axis of the rotor. The foremost stubis blown into the flute 44A and has its lengthwise motion arrested bythe member 139. Continued rotation of the rotor brings the flute 44Aaround until it is in the position occupied by the flute 44B in thefigures, the stub being retained in the flute 44A by the shroud 48. Thestub is then transferred into the flute 32A by the air from the pipe 47and the pipe and passages 46 and 46A, 46B and 46C, and is held into theflute 32A by the suction through the passage 3213. The stripper fingersare provided as a safeguard to make sure that the stub is transferredshould the pneumatic transfer be insuflicient for some reason, ratherthan normally to carry out the transfer themselves.

At the same time, a stream of stubs is also being blown along the guideconduit GC2 into the pipe 138, the foremost plug at any instant beingarrested in the flute 44B by the member 39 and carried around in theflute 44B until a half revolution of the rotor 30 after the transfer ofthe stub from the flute 44A the flute 44B comes into its closestposition relative to the drum 32 and the stub is transferred in asimilar manner into the next but one flute in the drum 32. The otheralternate flutes 32A have already each had a stub placed in them by therotor 31 which is receiving stubs from the guide conduits GC3 and GC4.

Thus, before a stub is transferred into a flute 32A from one of therotors 30 and 31 the stub is already moving at the same lateral speed asit will have when in the flute 32A.

Thus, the drum 32 carries a row of stubs arranged sideby-side and spacedapart, and this row of stubs is then transferred in the normal mannerfor each stub to be inserted between a pair of cigarette lengths onanother conveyor such as a further fluted drum.

In FIGURES 8 and 9 a modified form of rotor is shown. The singledouble-ended rotors 30 and 31 are replaced respectively by two coaxialpairs of rotors 230A, 23GB and 231A, 231B.

The rotor 230B is similar to the right hand part of the rotor 30 asshown in FIGURE 2. The fluted drum 44 is omitted and each successiveforemost stub fed from the guide conduit GC1 into the pipe 3 8A, as inFIGURE 2, is received in a passage 231 in a block 232 which rotates withthe rotor 230B. The passage 231 is a smaller diameter than the passage38 and comes into line with a flute 32A of the drum 32 once perrevolution. The rotor 230A is similar and receives stubs from the guideconduit GC2, and the rotors 231A and 231B receive stubs from the guideconduits GC4 and GC3 respectively.

The four rotors rotate in the same direction as the drum 32 and are ofsuch a diameter, and rotate at such a speed, that when the passage 231comes into line with a flute 32A they are travelling at substantiallythe same speed.

Each successive formost stub from the pipe 38A will be delivered intothe passage 231 when the rotor is in such a position that the lengthwisemotion of the stub is arrested by the drum 32. When the passage 231comes into line with a flute 32A the stub in the passage 231 isaccelerated by the air flow around it and travels lengthwise into theflute. As the passage 23 1 has a smaller crosssectional area than thepassage 38A the foremost stub will be accelerated away from thesucceeding stub, thus there will be a space between them, and thepassage 231 will be out of line with the flute 32A when the next stubarrives at the end of the passage 231. This next stub will therefore hitthe face of the drum 32 and will be carried around until the passage 231comes into line with the flute next but three on the drum 32. Meanwhile,

a stub from guide conduit GC2 will have been put into the flute next butone on the drum 32 by'the rotor 230A, Stubs from guide conduits GC3 andGC4 are put into the other flutes in an exactly similar manner by therotors 231A and 231B respectively. A shroud 250 holds the stub in theflutes 32A around the lower half of the drum 32, the stubs beingtransferred from the top .of the drum 32 as before.

By arranging the axes of the rotors 230A, 230B, 231A and 231B within theperiphery of the drum 32, and as the speeds of the passages 231 etc. inthe rotors are the same as the speed of the flutes 32A, the maximumperiod of time for the transfer of each stub into a flute 32A will beobtained. g i

FIGURES 10 and 11 show a similar arrangement but with the axes of therotors outside the periphery of the drum 32. In this case the drum andthe rotors rotate in opposite directions, but again the speed of thepassages, such as 231, and the flutes 32 are arranged to be the same,and each passage, such as 231, will be in register with a flute 32A fora relatively long period. In this arrangement the shroud 350 around thedrum 32. has side members 350A in the region of the rotors to arrest thelengthwise motion of each successive foremost stub until the passagessuch as 231 are in line with a flute 32A.

Various changes or modifications in the details of. the apparatusdescribed may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.Thus, for example, the. rollers 18, 19 and 23 may be omitted, as therollers 17,22, 25 serve to hold up the stub immediately behind the stubto be blown into one of the guide conduits so as to expose the rear faceof each successive foremost stub to the propelling air jet.

What I claim as my invention and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of feeding stubs to positions spaced. apart on an endlessconveyor in the direction of its travel, and so that the stubs lietransversely of said direction of travel, which method comprisespneumatically conveying the stubs, in line, and in the direction oftheir lengths, substantially at right angles to the path of theconveyor, and causing each successive foremost stub, whilst stilltraveling in the direction of its length, to travel also laterally ofits length in a curved path of progressively increasing radius, and at aprogressively increasing peripheral speed, until the path of theforemost stub is closely adjacent to the path of the conveyor, and theperipheral speed of the stub is substantially equal to the speed of theconveyor, and is in the same direction, and then transferring eachsuccessiveforemost stub at timed intervals to said conveyor.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein each successive foremost stubistransferred laterally of itself to the conveyor; i

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein pneumatic assistance isprovided for the transfer operation.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the supply of stubs consistsof stubs of multiples of double length which are subdivided into stubsof double length to be fed into the guide conduit. r

5. A method of feeding stubs from a supply of longer stubs, whichcomprises conveying said longer stubs sideways'in a side-by-side 'row,subdividing each longer stub, separating laterally of their lengths theshorter stubs resulting from the subdivision to expose adjacent endfaces of the stubs, and blowing against the said end face of one of saidshorter stubs to feed it lengthwise of itself away from the bulk supply.

6. A method of feeding stubs to a plurality of side byside paths from asupply of longer stubs which comprises conveying said longer stubssideways in a side-by-side row, subdividing each longer. stub into aline containing as many shorter stubs as there are paths, conveying theside-by-side row of lines of shorter stubs past the side-by- .side rowof paths so that each line comes into register with each path insuccession, and blowing in succession the stub at the end of each lineof stubs adjacent to the paths into the next succeeding path.

7. Apparatus for feeding stubs from a supply thereof, and for receivingsaid stubs and conveying them sideways in a side-by-side row in whichthey are spaced apart comprising, means for removing stubs in successionfrom the supply thereof, and for feeding them endwise and in line into aguide conduit in which they are constrained to move only in theirlengthwise direction, said guide conduit terminating at a locationadjacent to a conveyor having transverse channels spaced apart in thedirection of travel of the conveyor, at which location the guide conduitis parallel with the conveyor channels, a rotor arranged with its axisin line with the end of the guide conduit, and having a passage on theaxis of the rotor and communicating with the guide conduit at one end ofthe rotor to remove stubs from the conduit, said passage extending at agradually increasing distance from the rotor axis to adjacent theconveyor where the passage is parallel with the rotor axis, rotation ofthe rotor causing the radially outer end of the passage to travel in apath closely adjacent to the conveyor, means to supply air to the guideconduit and the rotor to urge the stubs towards the ocnveyor, and meansto drive the rotor at a rotational speed such that the speed of theradially outer end of the passage is equal to the speed of the conveyor,and means operable on each revolution of the rotor, when the passage isnearest to the conveyor, to transfer the foremost stub into a channel onthe conveyor.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the path of the radiallyouter end of the passage is radially outside the path of the conveyor,and the rotor is arranged to rotate in the opposite sense to themovement of the conveyor, the passage at its radially outer end having astop to arrest the lengthwise motion of the stub, the passage being openin the radially outward direction for the stub to be transferredlaterally of itself into a channel of the conveyor.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein more than one line of stubsis fed to the conveyor, a guide conduit being provided for each line.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein further passages areprovided in the rotor to be supplied with air to assist the lateraltransfer of the stubs by blowing them out of the rotor.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 and further comprising a strippermeans for each rotor to assist in the lateral transfer of the stubs.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein the rotor is provided at theside of the conveyor and is arranged so that the radially outer end ofthe passage comes into line with a channel of the conveyor on eachrevolution of the rotor so that the foremost stub in the passage istransferred lengthwise of itself into the channel.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the axis of the rotor isinside the path of the conveyor, and the rotor is arranged to rotate inthe same sense as the movement of the conveyor.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the axis of the rotor isoutside the path of the conveyor, and the rotor is arranged to rotate inthe opposite sense to the movement of the conveyor.

15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein more than one line of stubsis fed to the conveyor, a guide conduit and a rotor being provided foreach line of stubs.

16. Apparatus as claimed in claim 15 wherein a rotor is provided on eachside of the conveyor.

17. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 wherein a pair of rotors, one oneach side of the conveyor have a common axis, and the radially outer endof the passage of one rotor of the pair is diametrically opposed to theradially outer end of the passage of the other rotor of the pair.

18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 17 wherein there are two of said pairsof rotors, and the rotors of each pair supply a stub to alternatechannels of one set of alternate channels of the conveyor, and therotor-s of the other pair supply a stub to alternate channels of theother set of alternate channels of the conveyor.

19. Apparatus for feeding stubs from a supply of longer stubs whichcomprises a rotatable fluted drum to remove stubs from said supply andconvey them sideways in a side-by-side row, means to subdivide eachlonger stub into shorter stubs, a shroud around part of said drum andspaced therefrom to allow the shorter stubs to move downwards from thebases of the flutes, a guide conduit at the lower part of said drum andsituated so that the flutes come successively into line with it, andmeans to hold up into the base of the flute the stub behind the foremoststub when a flute comes into line with the guide conduit, so that therear face of the foremost stub is exposed by said stub falling on to theshroud, and a pipe behind the rear face of said foremost stub to blowthe stub into and along the guide conduit.

20. Apparatus for feeding stubs from a supply of longer stubs into aplurality of guide conduits, which comprises a rotatable fluted drum toremove stubs from said supply and convey them sideways in a side-by-siderow, rneans to subdivided each longer stub into a line containing asmany shorter stubs as there are guide conduits, the plurality of guideconduits being arranged in a part-circular side-'by-side row at thelower part of said drum so that each fiute comes into line with eachguide conduit in succession, a pipe associated with each guide conduitto blow into the conduit the then foremost stub as the flute comes intoline with each guide conduit in succession, and means to restrain thestubs behind the then foremost stub.

21. Apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein the stubs behind theforemost stub are restrained by being held into the base of the flute bya resilient roller.

22. Apparatus for feeding stubs from a supply thereof, and for receivingsaid stubs and conveying them sideways in a side-by-side row in whichthey are spaced apart, comprising, means for removing stubs insuccession from the supply thereof, and for feeding them endwise and inline into each of two guide conduits in which they are constrained tomove only in their lengthwise direction, a conveyor having transversechannels spaced apart in the direction of travel of the conveyor, saidguide conduits terminating at locations adjacent to the conveyor and onopposite sides thereof, the ends of the guide conduits being directedtowards each other on a common axis parallel with the conveyor channels,a rotor between the ends of the guide conduits and coaxially therewithand having two passages extending inwards from the outer ends of therotor at a gradually increasing distance from the rotor axis to themiddle of the rotor where they are parallel with the rotor axis anddiametrically opposite to each other and are both open in the radiallyoutward direction and have a stop member, each passage being on the axisof the rotor at the outer end thereof and communicating with the end ofthe adjacent guide conduit to receive stubs therefrom, means to drivethe rotor at a rotational speed such that the speed of the passages atthe middle of the rotor is equal to the speed of the conveyor, the rotorbeing so disposed in relation to the conveyor that the path of thepassages at the middle of the rotor is closely adjacent to the conveyor,means to supply air to the guide conduits to urge the stubs towards theconveyor, and means operable on each revolution of the rotor when eachpassage is at its nearest to the conveyor to transfer laterally theforemost stub in the passage into a channel on the conveyor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,988,402 6/ 196 1 Polcansky302-2 3,062,588 11/1962 Molins et al. 302-2 3,222,110 12/ 1965 Kelly et-al 302-2 WILLIAM S. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

